Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru | National Assembly for
Wales
Y Pwyllgor Plant, Pobl Ifanc ac Addysg | Children, Young People and
Education Committee
Hynt y gwaith gan Lywodraeth Cymru wrth ddatblygu Cwricwlwm newydd
Cymru | Welsh Government's progress in developing the new
Curriculum for Wales
CR 10
Ymateb gan: Cyngor y Gweithlu Addysg
Response from: Education Workforce Council
About the
Education Workforce Council (EWC)
-
The
Education Workforce Council (EWC) is the independent regulator in
Wales for teachers in maintained schools, Further Education
teachers and learning support staff in both school and FE settings,
as well as youth workers and people involved in work-based
learning.
The principal
aims of Council are to:
●
contribute to
improving the standards of teaching and the quality of learning in
Wales;
●
maintain and
improve standards of professional conduct amongst teachers and
those who support teaching and learning in Wales;
●
safeguard the
interests of learners, parents and the public and maintain public
trust and confidence in the education workforce.
-
This
submission complements evidence previously submitted to the
Children, Young People and Education Committee’s review of
curriculum and assessment arrangements in Wales: Implementation
(2016)
The role of
Pioneer Schools and any opportunities and challenges in their
involvement in curriculum design;
-
Research
being conducted by WISERD[1]
(2018) highlights some very positive experiences from pioneer
school teachers regarding their involvement in curriculum
development, however early discussions undertaken with staff have
shown that there were some concerns e.g. around time, removal of
high quality teachers from the classroom, and cost of supporting
cover for teachers to attend meetings etc. There has also been some
concern that the input of key stakeholders is being omitted from
the process e.g. pupils, parents, HE subject specialists and
business stakeholders. Implementation costs were also a key area of
concern, particularly around the Digital Competency Framework which
has a pivotal role in the development of the new
curriculum.
- Given that
workload was one of the key concerns highlighted via the National
Education Workforce Survey[2]
in particular for teachers (78.1% of school teacher respondents and
61.8% of FE teacher respondents found this to be the least
rewarding aspect of their job) it is important to ensure that
curriculum development activity does not further impinge upon the
workload of staff as the development activity gains impetus.
Sufficient time needs to be allocated to practitioners to enable
them to fully participate in development work in order that it does
not impact negatively on learners or their work-life
balance.
How the
development of the new Curriculum for Wales is aligning with the
development of the new national professional learning offer for
teachers;
-
The Cabinet
Secretary for Education’s recent statement[3]
outlines Welsh Government’s commitment to investing
significant financial resources into supporting practitioner
development. The sum of £24 million, earmarked for the
professional learning of both teachers and learning support staff,
is being split over two years (£9 million to be distributed
via the regional consortia in the first year and £15 million
in the second year to be distributed via the local authorities),
however, at the present time, it is not clear what the professional
learning offer will look like in practice. Such a significant
investment, whilst welcomed in principle, if it were to be looked
on a per capita basis, this raises questions about whether this is
sufficient investment to have a tangible impact. Equally, the fact
that this is only a pledge of funding for two years, creates
concerns around sustainability.
-
The
significant investment in professional learning requires sufficient
oversight to ensure stakeholders can be confident that this money
is being utilised to best effect, particularly given the increasing
funding pressures schools and local authorities are facing. There
needs to be sufficient external scrutiny, clear key performance
indicators, quality assurance of consortia provision and evaluation
of impact. There also needs to be guidelines in place to ensure
that money is spent appropriately and that there is a consistent,
equitable approach across all consortia areas. With all
funded provision delivered by the consortia, there is an inherent
danger that professional development offering will become
internalised with lost opportunities to learn from
outside.
-
Council would
also like to see a more holistic approach to developing the
education workforce as a whole. Welsh Government afforded
additional legislative powers to the Education Workforce Council
which means that Wales is in a unique position of having a range of
education practitioners all under one regulatory framework,
including those in work-based learning, FE, and youth work. Wales
now has one of the most comprehensive registers of education
practitioners in the world, yet there is concern that opportunities
to raise standards across the whole spectrum of education
practitioners are being missed. Whilst it is appreciated that that
teachers and learning support staff in schools make up the main
part of the Register, there are other individuals supporting
learners who will be both directly and indirectly involved in the
curriculum journey and there needs to be equity in the system to
ensure a cohesive and responsive workforce.
-
It is
important that Wales learns lessons from previous education reform
activity, e.g. the foundation phase in Wales. The 2014 independent report
on the foundation phase found that successful implementation
‘relies on all the key players (including head and lead
teachers/practitioners, class teachers, teaching assistants,
nursery staff, governors, committee members, advisors and
inspectors (p.21)).
-
It is
recognised that the new suite of professional standards aims to
align the expectations of professional learning with the
requirements of the new curriculum, but this requires more than
financial investment, it also requires a cultural shift with clear,
consistent messages coming from Welsh Government about what the
expectations are. This is not something which can change overnight
and requires sustained activity. The number of learning support
assistants in the education workforce in Wales is almost on a par
with the numbers of teachers (As at 1 March 2018 35,576 school
teachers, 32,662 schools learning support workers), yet the
professional standards for this group are currently only at the
pilot stage, and have not yet progressed through the formal Welsh
Government consultation process. The expectations on this group in
terms of professional development and learning are therefore
lagging behind.
Communication
with schools and teachers of the curriculum development work being
undertaken and the engagement of all schools (not only Pioneer
Schools);
- We know that
there is variation between schools in terms of their preparedness
for the new curriculum, and this is largely linked to the weakness
in the pioneer school model. A recent Estyn report[5],
for example, highlights that some schools made only tentative steps
in developing the curriculum as they are awaiting definitive
guidance from Welsh Government before committing to deep-rooted
change (p.10). Their report illustrated that schools were at very
different stages in the curriculum development journey (p.15). It
is imperative that where slow progress is being made, that there is
sufficient support to move these schools in the right direction and
to get them on board with the process.
The
preparedness of schools and teachers for delivering the new
curriculum and to what extent the concepts of Professor
Donaldson’s Successful Futures review are being tested
and carried out already;
-
There is
evidence from the National Education Workforce Survey[6],
that some education practitioners were more familiar with the
content and recommendations in Professor Donaldson's report
'Successful Futures’ than others. Given the timeframes for
implementation, it is of concern that 38.6% of school teacher
respondents to the survey felt they were ‘not very’, or
‘not at all’ familiar with this. Within the supply
sector, there was even less familiarity with Donaldson’s
report with 71.1% of supply teachers respondents indicating they
were ‘not very’ or ‘not at all’ familiar
with the content and recommendations contained within.
-
The supply
workforce in Wales constitutes a sizeable proportion of the overall
teaching workforce. Data held of the register of education
practitioners as at 1 March 2018 indicate that there are more than
4,800 school teachers working on a supply basis which constitutes
approximately 14% of all school teachers on the register. It is of
paramount importance that the supply workforce is factored in to
the communications strategy, professional development offering and
developmental work around the curriculum.
-
Evidence from
the National Education Workforce Survey[7]
2017 suggests that education practitioners would value more
professional development opportunities around curriculum content
and design, which suggests this is either an area where
practitioners have not had sufficient support, or because it has
recently become a new priority:
o
35.2% of
school teachers who responded to the survey said they would welcome
development around curriculum content and design;
o
39.1% of
school supply teachers who responded to the survey said that would
welcome development in curriculum content and design;
o
27.6% of FE
teachers who responded to the survey said that they would welcome
development around curriculum content and design.
- It is
recognised that following on from previous concerns around the
sufficiency of communications about the progress of the new
curriculum amongst key stakeholders, efforts have doubled in terms
of making improvements in this area e.g. via the curriculum for
Wales blog. It is not clear how communications are being targeted
at those practitioners in education related roles who are
supporting schools to ensure a joined up approach.
The steps
being taken to ensure that the new Curriculum for Wales complements
other Welsh Government priorities, including (but not restricted
to) Cymraeg 2050;
- The scale of
curriculum reform in Wales is deliberately bold and ambitious, but
there are also a number of parallel reforms being implemented which
are having a significant impact upon the education workforce. Wales
needs to learn from the experiences of curriculum reform in
Scotland. The curriculum reform journey in Scotland has not been a
smooth journey, and it must be noted that their reform agenda was
less ambitious than the approach being taken in Wales.
-
The register
of education practitioners holds valuable information about the
Welsh language ability of the education workforce. As at 1 March
2018, 33.3% of registered school teachers indicated that they were
Welsh speakers. Whilst this is higher than the general population
according to census data, this figure has remained relatively
static over several years. In terms of school teachers able to
teach through the medium of Welsh, 27.3% have this ability. Again,
this figure has shown negligible change over several years despite
efforts to upskill the workforce in this area (e.g. via sabbatical
schemes, etc.). In order to meet the need for increased demand for
Welsh language education provision, there needs to be a clear and
focused strategy to ensure there is a sufficient supply of teachers
with these skills.
-
It is
recognised that there are explicit references to developing Welsh
language ability in the new professional standards, but whilst this
may act as a lever, there needs to be a range of accessible, cost
effective professional development opportunities available to all
individuals supporting learners. It must also be considered that
there are costs involved in releasing staff from their role, which
may present a barrier. The impact on the learner also needs to be
considered since releasing staff from their educational setting may
have continuity implications.
-
Welsh
Government have recently afforded the EWC additional powers to
accredit programmes of Initial Teacher Education (ITE). From
September 2019, all ITE programmes in Wales will need to be
accredited by the EWC. The criteria for ITE[8]
make explicit reference to developing new teachers’
understanding of the curriculum including curriculum design and
planning. This represents a very positive step which will ensure
new teachers entering the workforce are equipped with the skills
and knowledge required in this area. Cognisance needs to be given,
however, to the fact that existing education practitioners and
those responsible for coordinating and overseeing the
implementation will have limited experience in curriculum design.
It is important therefore that there are suitable development
opportunities available and that the impact of the
training/development is evaluated to ensure it remains fit for
purpose. It is not clear where the expertise is coming from to
develop knowledge of curriculum design, given that it is an
entirely new approach.
-
Trend
data[9]
for Initial Teacher Education (ITE) illustrate that the supply of
new teachers is dropping year on year. This is further compounded
by the fact that centres are not recruiting to target. A total of
1,910 students successfully completed their programme in 2002/03,
compared with 1,033 in 2016/17 which constitutes a fall of 45.9%.
Whilst recruitment targets were adjusted in line with a previous
oversupply in the system following on from the ‘Review of
initial teacher training provision in Wales’ report[10]
(2006), it is important to ensure that there remains a sufficient
supply particularly in relation to certain subjects where
traditionally it has been difficult to recruit to target. It is
becoming difficult to meet ITE targets for Welsh language, for
example, which will impact on numbers coming through the system
with highly developed Welsh language skills. Teaching is
competing with other professions for high calibre graduates with
Welsh language skills, and often other professions can offer more
attractive salaries and reward packages. Whilst attempts are being
made to build Welsh language capacity within the existing workforce
via various initiatives, it will still need to be complemented with
new entrants with sufficient language skills.
- As the ITE system builds
the foundations for new teachers to develop a better understanding
of curriculum design, the role of the National Academy for
Educational Leadership will be vital in ensuring that existing and
future education leaders in Wales are sufficiently equipped to
support their staff in meeting the challenges of the new
curriculum.
- The Digital
Competence Framework (DCF) aims to underpin the new curriculum,
however recent evidence from Estyn[11],
suggests that some leaders are unsure of when the DCF should be
implemented, due to there being no explicit realisation date which
‘…suggests to some that it will be introduced at the
same time as the new curriculum, six years after the DCF was first
made available. As a result the DCF could lose impetus’
(p.3). The report also expressed a specific concern in relation to
secondary schools in that too few digital leads have mapped the
provision of the DCF across KS4 (p.15). This means that they are
not currently in a position to fully realise the DCF. It is vitally
important the systems and frameworks that aim to underpin and
support curriculum development are moving at the same
pace.
Any other
issue stakeholders wish to draw to the Committee’s
attention.
-
Wales is keen
to develop schools as learning organisations as this is seen to be
pivotal in ensuring that they can be responsive to the changing
educational landscape and supporting the development of the new
curriculum. A recent report by the OECD[12],
however, suggests that whilst significant progress has been made by
the majority of schools, ‘a considerable proportion of
schools are still far removed from realising this objective’.
It also suggests that secondary schools are finding it more
challenging to develop as learning organisations. The fact that
there is variability in the system creates challenges.
-
Much of the
activity over recent years in the area of education policy has
tended to be very school-centric, yet the education workforce
responsible for delivering the curriculum encompasses groups beyond
schools. The Education Workforce Council currently has over 1,000
registrants in the youth work sector and more than 2,600 in the
work-based learning sector. There are also 2,554 FE learning
support workers and 5,844 FE teachers registered with the EWC (as
at 1 March 2018).
-
Whilst much
of the curriculum development work is being driven by the pioneer
schools, it is important to recognise that there is also good
practice to be seen outside the pioneer schools. It is of paramount
importance to ensure that there is a mechanism to ensure that good
practice is identified and that it is easily
accessible.
-
Whilst the
impending curriculum changes are lauded as a revolution in the way
education is delivered in Wales, it will inevitably invite intense
scrutiny from key stakeholders, with a need to get it right. Whilst
it appears that much work has gone in to the development of the
curriculum itself, it is not clear what work has gone in to
systematically documenting the ongoing development activity and
planning for future evaluation of the curriculum reform
process.
-
The political
timetable could also have an impact on curriculum reform matters
and it is important that there remains a focus on pressing ahead
and maintaining momentum throughout this period in order that
impetus is not lost.
EWC National
Education Workforce Survey, 2017: Available from
www.ewc.wales
Furlong, J;
Hagger, H and Butcher, C. (2006). Review of Initial Teacher
Training Provision in Wales A Report to the Welsh Assembly
Government University of Oxford.